


Guarded Heart

by PizzaHorse



Category: Disney Fairies
Genre: Apologies, Developing Friendships, F/F, Fairies, Female Friendship, Forgiveness, Friendship, Gen, Guilt, Heart-to-Heart, Movie: Legend of the NeverBeast, Post-Movie: Legend of the Neverbeast, Regret, Remorse, Resolution, Serious, Talking, Understanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 04:54:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20040235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PizzaHorse/pseuds/PizzaHorse
Summary: Haunted by the almost catastrophic consequences of her actions, Nyx seeks out a certain animal fairy, hoping to make amends.





	Guarded Heart

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS for Tinkerbell and the Legend of the Neverbeast, which I highly recommend everyone watch. You don't need to have any prior knowledge of Disney Fairies or to have seen any of the previous movies.
> 
> I thought Fawn and Nyx could use some closure after the events of the film.

"Fawn?"

The moss at the entrance to her home slowly peeled back, revealing a certain scout fairy she was all too familiar with.

"Oh. Nyx."

It wasn't that she was unhappy to see her, exactly. But it had been awhile since they had last spoken. Part of that was Fawn's commitment to doing the right thing, and _not_ bringing threatening animals into the hollow, or at least, doing so with proper supervision and assistance. As such, lately she hadn't needed a personal visit from Nyx, ready to scold her again.

Plus, there was that whole thing where Nyx destroyed one of Gruff's towers and nearly doomed Pixie Hollow, but, everything had turned out fine in the end. Still, both of them knew what Nyx was responsible for, even if they'd silently agreed to not tell everyone else. It was weird, sharing a secret with Nyx, but Fawn felt in her _heart_ it was the right thing to do. Things had been strained between them before, but this latest event had added a whole new layer of tension. With neither ready to broach the subject, they'd been avoiding each other's company- until now.

"Can I talk to you?"

"Whatever it is, _I_ didn't bring it into Pixie Hollow this time," Fawn said, jokingly, before she noticed Nyx's more-somber-than-usual expression.

She stepped inside, letting the lichen fall closed behind her. "I made a mistake," she began.

"Well, you've come to the right fairy! I make mistakes all the time, as I'm sure you're familiar with."

"Please, listen. This is hard enough for me."

Fawn piped down, concern growing on her face.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong about Gruff."

"I think we established that on the night of the storm."

"But I never _said_ it. And I should have. I came here to apologize for my mistake."

Fawn knew that Nyx knew she'd messed up. She'd assumed it was a mutual understanding after the events of that night. Nyx was the strong, silent type, big on action, less so on words. But from the look in her eyes when she realized she'd jeopardized Pixie Hollow, Fawn was already aware of how sorry she probably was. Still, to have Nyx come out and say it meant this must have been weighing heavily on her mind.

"We all make mistakes," Fawn said, trying to be reassuring. "I mean, you've seen most of mine firsthand."

"I can't afford to make mistakes. Mistakes get fairies killed."

"Nyx, I've seen you out there. You put your life on the line all the time to protect every creature in Pixie Hollow. You've prevented dozens, probably hundreds, of disasters. One mistake isn't the end of the world."

"It is if that mistake could destroy Pixie Hollow."

The weight of her words made Fawn pause. Perhaps the ramifications of Nyx's actions hadn't really affected her. After all, she and Gruff had been able to save Pixie Hollow. Everything worked out, and there wouldn't be another threat of this magnitude for 1,000 more years. They had their lives to get back to, and focusing on the past wouldn't do anyone any good.

Maybe it was easier for Fawn because she had more experience with death. Once animals went to the Mainland, they were no longer in the care of fairies. There were bittersweet goodbyes every season, but also the promise of new life when preparing for the next. And with the joy of new life, sometimes came the unfortunate sorrow of losing that life. It was a constant cycle, as nature ran its course.

But Nyx wasn't a nature fairy. Things lived, and died, prospered and languished, all around her. Even though Fawn had to start over every season, Nyx didn't. Nyx watched the world cycle from afar, protecting their way of life, guiding new fairies to the Great Tree. Starting over and rebuilding Pixie Hollow was a frightening concept, but it could be done. The earth would always heal. But for Nyx, who didn't nurture or build, maybe the concept of starting anew was terrifying.

"I acted rashly," Nyx continued. "I was blinded by appearances and judged too harshly. My scout fairies trusted me. They believed in me to do the right thing. Make the right call. My heart told me to follow my instincts. But in my head, I knew something wasn't right. I knew I should have looked more closely at the legend of the neverbeast."

"But it's okay now, Nyx. We've rebuilt what the storm damaged. Everyone's fine-"

"You _died_, Fawn. It was my fault."

That was something Fawn had tried not to think about. She knew the risks when she helped Gruff to gather the lightning. Everything was going so well until… _But Nyx couldn't have known,_ Fawn had told herself, over and over. Even with the towers intact, she still would have had to lead Gruff into the sky, close to the eye of the storm. Right? Nyx hadn't done anything to intentionally hurt her. She was only trying to protect the hollow.

"That's not tr-"

"Don't tell me it's not true! Don't lie to me! I made a mistake that got someone killed. It almost got _everyone_ killed."

"I made the choice to lead Gruff into the storm. You just wanted to protect Pixie Hollow."

"And I _failed_. I failed at the one thing I'm supposed to do."

"Nyx, I know this is hard," Fawn fluttered over, gently taking Nyx by the shoulders and leading her to a stool where she could sit and calm down. "But you have to let it go. Learn from it, and move on. Do you know what the first step is?"

So used to having a solution, Nyx found herself at a loss, as she looked to her for the answer. "What?"

Fawn knelt down so they were eye-to-eye. "I forgive you."

She seemed to take a moment to process what Fawn had just said, eyes darting back and forth as she studied her face. Then she smiled, letting out a relieved sigh, like she'd been holding her breath ever since that night. Fawn grinned back, glad that Nyx had been able to get this off her chest.

Abruptly, Nyx threw her arms around her waist, burying her face in Fawn's shirt. "Fawn, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Whoa, Nyx. It's okay."

It was… _strange_ to see Nyx be vulnerable. She was always so serious and stoic, unwaveringly focused on the task at hand. Fawn wondered, as she returned the embrace, if any of her scouts had ever seen her with her guard down like this. Not that she thought Nyx was incapable of emotion, but a display of genuine remorse from the scout fairy was not something she ever thought she'd be privy to.

Nyx looked up, wet streaks evident on her face. "Is it?"

"I want it to be okay. I want _us_ to be okay. You had every reason not to trust me, given my track record."

"I could have done things differently. Listened, instead of being so thickheaded."

"You were only trying to do the right thing."

"But I was _wrong_."

"Nyx, no one expects you to be perfect," she placed a hand on either cheek, wiping away her still-drying tears. "Every day, you wake up, ready to risk your life to keep the hollow safe. You put yourself between others and the things that could hurt them. You'd trade your life for that of any other fairy, if it came down to it. There is _no one_ more fearless in all of Pixie Hollow than you."

Nyx brightened at the compliment. She knew everyone in Pixie Hollow appreciated the work she and the scouts did. But it was usually thought of as just that: work. Protecting the hollow was their job, the same as Fawn's was caring for the animals. So it wasn't often that she received extra praise or thanks, despite her talent meaning she would probably end up in more hazardous situations than most faeries.

She cleared her throat, attempting to regain her composure. "Thank you, Fawn," she took the nature fairy's hands in her own as she stood. "The hollow wouldn't be the same without you."

"It wouldn't be the same without you either, Nyx."

Nyx smiled wanly, nodding. "Well, I'm sure I'll see you around," she said, heading for the doorway.

"Yeah," Fawn agreed.

She paused at the entrance, looking over her shoulder as she pulled back the moss.

"Hey Fawn?"

"Yes?"

"Someday, I hope my heart is big as yours."

"It already is, Nyx."

**Author's Note:**

> Hooked on Fawnyx.


End file.
